The (Just) War Department

  On most days on BreakPoint, you'll hear examples of how we are trying to resist the cultural slide and maintain our witness against formidable odds -- often bad news. That's why I'm happy for this broadcast -- some good news -- a case of our leaders working hard to honor the principles that came down to us through the Christian tradition. Wednesday, I attended a meeting called by my old friend Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense. He had invited a dozen or so religious leaders -- one imam, one rabbi, the rest Christians, mainline and evangelical -- to the Pentagon. The purpose was an open, no holds barred, discussion of the moral limits on war -- what is the Just War doctrine. The fact that the Secretary of Defense would demonstrate sensitivity to these concerns was in itself heartening, but even more heartening were the presentations given by the Pentagon officials. The Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Admiral Thomas Wilson, told us how targets in the war in Afghanistan are determined. His briefing was straight out of the Just War tradition, emphasizing the importance of proportionality and avoiding civilian casualties. He told us that they use just enough ordnance to do the job but not enough to cause collateral damage. The enemy, he said, often uses innocent civilians as "human shields" around key leaders or targets. Then he added that we choose not to hit those targets because it's not moral to take out civilians even in the pursuit of important targets. And this policy hasn't been without cost. Pilots have complained about lost opportunities created by our insistence on protecting civilians. Dr. Joseph Collins then gave a heart-rending account of our extraordinary efforts to provide relief to suffering Afghanis. I was impressed by the Pentagon's humanitarian concerns. Rumsfeld himself spoke for only ten minutes. "I didn't come to talk," he said, "I came to listen." In the discussion that followed, he was, as always, quick, bright, and engaged. When I asked Rumsfeld about the sensitive question of preemptive strikes, he quickly responded with the example of the Israeli attack on the Iraqi nuclear power plant in 1981, an example most Christians believe to have been a just use of force. Our lively dialogue made it clear that Rumsfeld had thought deeply about the moral questions and was committed to prosecuting this war against terrorism in a way consistent with the Just War doctrine. The only less-than-satisfactory answer was when the Secretary repeated the administration's line about the terrorists "hijacking" Islam, a "peaceful religion." I can understand the political necessity to say this, but I suggest that my old friend read Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations for a different take on Islam's problems with the West. Listening to Pentagon officials describe a battle plan that could have been formulated by St. Augustine or Thomas Aquinas was encouraging beyond description. I can't remember ever attending a meeting in Washington quite like this. It was also a reminder of how much our culture and society owes to Christianity. Just War is an idea that came to the West from Christianity. Despite the rise of secularism, when America wants to know the right thing to do, it turns to Christianity. We can thank God that we see Christian truths being lived out in, of all places, the Pentagon by men and women who are prosecuting a just war by just standards.   More: Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (Touchstone, 1998). BreakPoint's fact sheet on Just War theory has been updated with additional reading. Transcripts of Secretary Rumsfeld's prayer at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance and speech at the October 11 Memorial Service for those lost at the Pentagon on September 11.

11/30/01